South Asia

• Afghanistan

• Bangladesh

• Bhutan

• Burma (Myanmar)

• India

• Maldives

• Nepal

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka

Physical Geography

South Asia

The world’s highest

mountains, the

Himalayas, form the
northern border of

India

The Himalayas

isolate South Asia

from the rest of Asia, serving as a border!

The Himalaya mountains are the result of a landmass

collision between sub-continent India from the south and

China/Tibet from the North!

​

• No Indian has climbed all 14 of the 8,000-metre peaks 

  • Two are in Pakistan

  • three more straddle the border between Pakistan and China 

  • One lies between China and Tibet.  

    
    

Arjun Vajpai

Western Ghats were

a barrier to trade
development, hard
for traders to reach

the land!

Western Ghats are a biodiversity hotspot. Rolling hills
that stretch from the north of Mumbai to the southern
tip of India. Contains a large proportion of the country's
plant and animal species; many of which are only found

here and nowhere else in the world!

Western Ghats shelter

• one-third of the plants
• almost half the reptiles
• more than three-fourths of the amphibians

known in India

Western Ghats

• SW Ghats home to the largest population of

– Asian elephants
– Bengal tigers
– sloth bears
– much more.

–

• Mounting threats

– Industrialization
– deforestation
– hunting

South Asia’s energy is generated from

its mineral resources!

• India: 4th in world coal

production

• Has enough petroleum to

supply half its oil needs

• Uranium deposits provide

fuel for nuclear energy
(weapons)

• Large iron-ore deposits

found in Deccan Plateau
(middle of India).

• Diamonds

• India supplies most of

the world’s mica, key
component for
electrical equipment
(cellphones).

• Pakistan: coal, gas, oil

and uranium

• Sri Lanka variety of

gemstones (sapphires
and rubies)

Climate, Monsoons, cyclones!

• South Asia has six main

climate zones.

• Tropical wet zone along

western and eastern
coasts of India and
Bangladesh

monsoons, or seasonal
winds.
• Dry winds in winter

blow from NE and wet
winds come from the
southwest in summer
(June-Sept.)

Monsoons (means season in Arabic)

• Heavy rainfall

– summer
– crucial to life on the subcontinent!
– essential for crops in the region.

• Farmers plant seeds before monsoon

season
– seeds take root in dry soil
– grow because of the rains.

Cyclones

• Most extreme weather pattern of South Asia

– violent storm with fierce winds and heavy rains.
– called cyclones in the Indian Ocean
– typhoons in NW Pacific
– Hurricanes in the Atlantic.

• Cyclones most destructive in Bangladesh

– high waves can swamp large parts of the country
– 1970 cyclone killed est. 500,000!